Method of constructing buildings



May 26, 1925.`

E.' F. ROBERTS METHOD oF CONSTRUCTING BUILDINGS F'iled1 DSG.V 4, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 26, 1925.

E. F. ROBERTS .A

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING BUILDINGS Filed Dec. 4, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmm May 26, 1925.

E. F. ROBERTS METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING BUILDINGS 5 Sheets-Shee 3 Filed Dec. 4, 1920 6. w wm Patented May 26, 1925.

UNITED STATES upenn r. noennrs, or DETROIT; MICHIGAN.

METHOD OF COITSTRUCTING BUILDINGS.

Application Afiled"December 4,51%3202` Serial No.42811.

To 0N whom t may conce-rn.

Be it knou'n that I; Encan F." Ronn'rs, a citizen otthe` UnitedStates o't America,

residing at Detroit,`in the county of Wayne and State oili'lllichigan, have invented certainlnew `and useful lmprovementsin Methods of Constructing Buildings, oi' which the following is a specification,L reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a process otcon-` structing buildings. Itlias for an object the utilization oft` raw materials l with the least possible transportation and n'ianipulation.` r'tnother `object oi my invention is to produce a building` which shal-libelire-proof, water-prooin and permanent.`

l accon'iiilish these and other objects by moldingl the Walls, partitions, doors, root and other parts ota house oft plastic clay, drying the clay While held in position and then burningl the molded: material. After a rough Wall has been"constructed by this process the interior and. exterior surfaces may be given any desiredcoveringfor decoration or in certain eases a .surface `may be prepared atthe time the clay is .molded which will` be baked in place.` and-'servev as the permanent surface.

In the drawings,l

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic vertical. section ot a bui-lining showing th'elinoldsI in place ready :tor the drying operation; f

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section, each quarter oit-'Which represents a different arrangement of a plastic material;

Figs. 3! andl 4 are anele'vation and' section respectively o another form o'limold;

Fig. is a section otr a itragmentof arwall showing a piie'ierred form oit moldby Which aillollo'w wall may be eoi'istructed';

Fig. G is avertical tsectione on they liiie VIII-Vinci Fig. 5;" Y

Figs. 7, 8 and'Q are sections*illustrating Various Ways in which the Vouter surface of the Wal-ls otthe building. maybe linis'he'dr; and

Fig.` l0 is a section'otia h'eat=insulating casing;

Clays andy shales are soWidelydistributed that their use as building: materials in the 'form of bricks, tiles and terra cotta is almost universal. The present practice is to prepare vthese materials `in piecesl of a Ysize and weight suitablefor'easy handling-fand transportation and llmrnrthemI in' kilns located .near the Vclaypits; In theY process of manufracture each piece is handled several times. It must then be transported to the place Where a buildingis to be erected and set in placey by Workmen using some kind oicement or'mortar to hold it in position: Each handlingot the material requires time and since each piece 'may be handled `many times,a. considerable part ofthe expense of building a vWall is due tothe mere handling or the material.

In many places Where the excavation is made for a basement, aconsiderable amount of clay must be hauled away, in many cases to-a considerable distance, `because clay is not desirable as a surface material for garden.

l propose to use clay or shale in places where. it forms the material underlying` the surface, by molding it into structural shapes thevuse of sui-table molds yand machinery and, after drying it thoroughly, the molded clay Will be burnt in position so that the completed house will consist ota ceramic stiiictnre burnt in place. Y

there the materials in the location selected for the house are suitable, they may be used for the exterior andV the surface of the Walls may ber made to assume any desired `conliguration by using thefordinary methods employed -today in terra cotta Work. It the' clays in the location are not ot ajquality to produce a good effect, the surface lor the entire structure may consist ot other suitable clays brought from a distance.'

In manycaees, instead of making the surface `in asingle piecewth the body of the Wall, the tirst operation will be to construct a rough Wall which will act merelyl as a support and apply to thisrougjli` Wall a surface layer of plaster, stucco, tile, brick, stone, marble, mosaic,'tera'zf/Jo, cement, metal, Wood or any othersuitableor desired material.

`The Walls maybe made solid `but pretervably would bemade With vertical open passages as indicated' in Figs. 2,25 and 6, the structure being similar tovthat used in the ordinaryhollow building tile. y In` the lower Walls, the partitions ini` therbottoin'wall Will be as numerous as required to give thenecessary structural strengtlnwhile in the upper Walls the partition portions may be omitted'. y

The preparation otthe clay orfshale by crushing and mixing with water into a plastic mass will be conducted as is customary in the manufacture of brick or tile and the plastic mass will be squeezed into place in suitable molds arranged where the wall is to remain. I have shown a preferred forni of .mold .in Figs. and G in which a rough wooden framework consisting of horizontal pieces 1 secured to vertical strips 2, forms the support for a plaster of Paris facing 3. Vertical channels or spaces elare left between the plaster and the wooden support and these are conveniently formed by securing a metallic fabric 5 or expanded metal 5 lath to the woodensupport 1 in a series of outwardly bent curves. A mold facing such as has been described is used for the inner andk outer surfaces of ay wall or partition, the hollow spaces in the wall being formed by the use of hollow plaster of Faris tubes 6.

rlhese tubes are reinforced and the central tubular opening maintained by a wire mesh or expanded metal member 7. As shown in lig. et, the spaces in the wall are rectangular and the cross partitions between the spaces are staggered. As shown in the lower left hand corner of Fig. 2, there may be but a single row of openings between the outer and inner surface of the wall. In the lower right hand corner of Fig. 2, the partitions between the outer and inner faces of the wall are shown as inclined at an angle of about 60o to each face, the open spaces being triangular. It will be obvious that these vertical passages may be of any shape and that the arrangement of the partitions between the inner and outer surface of the wall may be varied according to the circumstances of the ease.

When the wet clay is forced into the spaces between the mold members, the moisture in the clay passes out into` the plaster of Paris mold facings and by creating currents of air through the open passages in the tubes (3 and through the passages ilin the outer mold faces, the drying out ofthe thin layers of clay will be accomplished uniformly and rapidly. When the clay has dried sufficiently to hold its own weight, the tubes 6 may be removed by pulling them upward. As shown in Fig. 6, they are larger at the top than at the bottom, this tapering structure permitting their ready withdrawal. Supporting loops 8 secured in the upper portions of the molds, serve as a means by which the tubes may be lifted.

After the molds have been withdrawn, suitable supporting means may be placed against the inner and outer faces of the walls as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In Figs. 1 and 2, these supporting members 9 are shown as provided with electric heating elements 10 by which the preliminary drying may be hastened and by which the burning of the tile may be accomplished, in cases where electric current is available and where the cost is not excessive. These supporting members 9 will have a metallic face 11 in contact with the plastic material and some form of heat insulating material 12 outside of the heating elements 1 0,-

Ordinarily, however, the burning of the tile as well as the preliminary drying will be more cheaply accomplished by the use of fuel oil.

A modified form of supporting member is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 in which steam coils 18 are arranged between an inner metallic face 19 and an outer metallic face 20. A suitable insulating` layer 21 is used to prevent loss of heat.

If the size and weight of the walls are not excessive and if the supporting structures can be made to hold the plastic clay in position, the entire structure may be burnt at a single operation. It is probable however, that it will be necessary to mold, dry and burn the various ysections singly to avoid distortion of the plastic material by strains which it will not have strength enough to resist until after being burnt.

It will'be obvious that substantially all of the expediente` now used in reinforced concrete building may be adapted to this ceramic structure by easy modifications. Since common bricks are rarely fired above 10500 C. and face brick rarely above 1250O C. reinforcements of steel or cast iron may be used wherever desired, since the melting point of steel and cast iron is higher than the temperature to which the plastic material need be raised while it is being hard burned.

All passages, as for ventilation, for heating systems, for vacuum cleaner pipes, and for electric wires, or for any other purpose, may be provided while the walls or partitions are being molded. Door and window openings -will of course be left and stairways, floors and roofs will be molded and provided with proper reinforcements. I contemplate the formation of baths, lavatories, kitchen sinks, refrigerating chambers, ovens, lireless cooker chambers, medicine cabinets, shelves, laundry tubs, fire places, and many other structural parts during the plastic operations, and previously molded ceramic structures whether previously burnt or not may be installed in positiony during the plastic operations.

As suggested, the surfaces may receive any desired finish.y In Fig. 7 the outer section 22 of the rough burnt clay wall has recesses 23 at intervals with which a coating of stucco 24 may engage. The stucco may have any ornamental material 25 pressed into the surface while it is plastic as is well known in the art. Instead of the stucco or in connection therewith, a surface layer of tiles 26 may be used, secured to the rough wall by any suitable cement or mortar 27. Another surface finish is indicated in Fig. 8, in which the portion of the wall above the vater-table -28, is faced With brick 2), and a portion below the Watertable, is surfaced with stone or concrete blocks 30.

In certain instances, I may apply to the surface of the dried Wall 22 before it has been burnt a thin layer of clay ora clayey mixture of a quality such as to give a pleasing appearance when it has been burnt. This surface may be scored to imitate brick or tile as indicated at 8l.

lt may be found better to burn the rough Wall first and then apply the clay surface which Will subsequently be burnt.

Suitable glazes may be applied to any surfaces, and by controlling the composition of the ceramic materials and by regulating the temperature, any desired degree of vitrification may be obtained.

After the structural elements are thoroughly dried, if they have sufficient strength to sustain the weight upon them, the molds will be remoifed and heat insulating members 32 of any suitable construction will be placed on both sides but not in contact With the dried clay, so that the flames and heat from the oil burners 13 may reach both the cute' and inner surfaces as Well as the hollow interior. Where possible, the entire building will be enclosed in a single insulating casing so that the entirewburning may be accomplished at a single operation to conserve fuel.

The specific structures herein sho-Wn are to be understood as merely illustrative, since obviously many changes in detail may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I therefore Wish the following claims to be construed broadly as covering any means of producing the desired configuration of the structural elements, and any plastic materials capable of being converted into a strong and resistant substance by the application of a high temperature.

I claim:

l. A-process of constructing a buiding which consists in forming a Wall in situ and of plastic clay with continuous vertical passages, providing spaced closures about said Wall, and burning said Wall by means of application of heat applied at the bottom of said vertical passages and between said closures and the outer surface of said Wall.

the building' is provided With a roof Wherein the passages are extended Within and around the said roof.

3. A method of constructing a building` Which consists in forming a plastic Wall about molds of porous material and adapted to form continuous vertical passages in said Wall, and further, exterior molds of porous material arranged Within end closures spaced thereby from, the exterior 0f said Wall, removing said porous molds after they have absorbed moisture from said plastic Wall, and burning said wall by means of heat directed upwardly through said vertical passages and to the spaces between said end closures and said Wall.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

EDGAR F. ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

O. F. BARTHEL, ARTHUR MINNICK.

2. A process according to claim l, wherein 

